Results: Among 7,157 participants who responded to the questionnaire, 4,502 reported their birthweights, with a mean (SD) of 3.4 (0.7) kg. FPG, PLG and HbA1c were strongly and inversely correlated with birthweight. The ORs (95% CI) for high (> 90th gender-specific percentile) FPG, PLG and HbA1c were 0.83 (0.71, 0.96), 0.74 (0.65, 0.84) and 0.81 (0.70, 0.94) respectively, for one kg increase in birthweight after adjustment for age and sex. In those with LBW, the risks for having IFG, IGT, diabetes and all abnormalities combined were increased by 1.75, 2.22, 2.76 and 2.28 for females and by 1.40, 1.32, 1.98 and 1.49 for males compared to those with NBW, respectively. These trends applied across categories of age and body mass index (BMI).

Conclusion: In an affluent western country with a good adult health profile, birthweight has an inverse relationship with indices of glycemia, and LBW people were predisposed to higher rates of glycemic dysregulation in adult life. These associations were independent of BMI, and other factors significantly correlated with glycemic dysregulation.